Hay Feeders as a Home Business

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm a home-birthin', home-makin', home-schoolin', home-steadin' Mama and would like to add home-businesswoman to my list of "hyphenated-home-credentials"!

The discussion on Hay Wasters has inspired me to design a couple of different hay racks which I hope to patent and sell. I googled "hay racks for rabbits images" and looked at what was available, and though some are similar in design, mine do have differences.

Before going further, I need to see what is currently available. I ordered my original equipment from Bass, and looked at their hay rack and my designs are different. What are the names of the other major companies that sell rabbit cages, wire rolls, feeders, etc.? I tried to view Klubertanz website, but my stupid computer "cannot launch acrobat" and the ignorant operator (Me!) doesn't know how to load Acrobat... could anyone help me out by cutting and pasting the image here?

Thanks everybody!

 

[Secuono]

If your hay racks are going to be hung from the outside, have them be water proof. I just use 1x1 wire and make my own. Cheaper and easy to make.

If you right click an image and select save image location, then just pate the url into the center of
[ i m g ][ / i m g ]

Just take out the spaces before submitting.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

If your hay racks are going to be hung from the outside, have them be water proof. I just use 1x1 wire and make my own. Cheaper and easy to make.

If you right click an image and select save image location, then just pate the url into the center of
[ i m g ][ / i m g ]

Just take out the spaces before submitting.

My problem is I can't get onto Klubertanz at all to view the images.

I have two versions- one for outside and one for inside the cage, and will make the outer one waterproof.

I know most of the people on RT are self-sufficient build-it rather than buy-it types (as I am!), but there are lots of people who aren't so I am hopeful there will be a market for them. Once this gets off the ground and going, I will post pics of the prototypes so anyone that wants to make them on their own can do so.

Thanks for the input!

 

[ellistattoo]

I just took a pic for you from the catalog...

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Thanks, ellistattoo! They don't look like what I have in mind, either! Whoo-hoo!

 

[Secuono]

I have the paper catalog. We have dial up, so I cannot view it online, takes all day to load..
1 week and it was here.

 

[ladysown]

my hay feeders vary...the roll ball type (useless), the hay on the side wire rack... dangerous for adventuresome babies, good for smart adults!, and these wire cube trays that I got at the dollar store.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

ladysown, good to know what actually works! I am working with prototypes to see what performs well in the real world. The hamster ball type hay rollers looked like a great idea in the pics- too bad they don't really function well. Question- the hay on side rack being a danger to kits- what exactly happened? Was it mounted inside the cage or out?

Any input others have regarding safety issues would be greatly appreciated- I would hate to market a product that could pose a danger to kits or adults.

 

[ladysown]

mounted inside, found a kit stuck, not hurt, just stuck. But if it had been a crazy minded kit, hurt was a potential.

So far I like the wire cubes I got at the dollar store. They are flat which makes them safe for babies (not angled), and they hold enough to keep the bunnies happy.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I would like to see a cover over the top of some hay feeders, like those on J-feeders- in orer to keep unwanted stuff from dropping into the hay-- say if a bird got into the rabbit area....

 

[hoodat]

I would like to see a cover over the top of some hay feeders, like those on J-feeders- in orer to keep unwanted stuff from dropping into the hay-- say if a bird got into the rabbit area....

I've had several small kits go up a J feeder and get stuck. If they hadn't had a cover they would have escaped to be cat food. Don't ask me how they got past the narrow slot at the bottom but they did.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Terry and Benjamin,

the points about the covers are good- I am thinking of offering a couple of different options. My J-feeders don't have covers, and I hadn't considered the possibility of kits crawling in there. I don't mind sharing our rabbit meat with the dogs and cats, but I'd prefer being the one to choose who is on the menu!

 

[greekjohnson01]

Business minded people continuously ask tips on how to raise cattle for profit. This is because raising cattle is a very good business venture, especially in the non-winter seasons, which has a great return of investment. :bunnyhop:

Orangeries
Orangery

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I've had several small kits go up a J feeder and get stuck. If they hadn't had a cover they would have escaped to be cat food. Don't ask me how they got past the narrow slot at the bottom but they did.

Holy crap! I think I might bust out some wire mesh and make a little protective kit-saver so the food will drop down into the bottom of the J-feeder but nothing can crawl up it...

I hadn't even thought about a kit crawling up there! D: Man I'm glad I read this, so I can be prepared for the possibility.

 

[hoodat]

I'd certainly be happy to see what you come up with. I haven't found a hay feeder yet that I'm really satisfied with.

 

[downonthefarm]

A friend of ours had an adult gets its leg caught in a hay rack mounted on the inside of the cage. It ended up breaking it's leg.

 

[ottersatin]

I prefer to have my home-built Hay-racks
on the outside of the cage. It creates
quicker easier access to filling, the same
as {J} feeders. I only wish water-bottles
were as easily accessed and filled. The
little bit of lost hay which falls to the floor
bothers me not. I just figure that, "it goes with the Territory".
Ottersatin, C.V.R. ldtimer:

 

[hoodat]

I prefer to have my home-built Hay-racks
on the outside of the cage. It creates
quicker easier access to filling, the same
as {J} feeders. I only wish water-bottles
were as easily accessed and filled. The
little bit of lost hay which falls to the floor
bothers me not. I just figure that, "it goes with the Territory".
Ottersatin, C.V.R. ldtimer:

Bass sells a flip top water bottle that can be filled without taking it off the cage but I like to replace my plastic bottles with glass ones. They're easier to sterilize when gunk builds up in them and don't go brittle in the sun. Needless to say I have a dirt floor so if it falls it won't break.

 

[Secuono]

I had flip tops before, it leaked from several places, top wasn't even attached, it just slipped on. Returned them and went w/bowls for food/water.

I rather have the hay and food bowls to be inside so they stay dry. Water bowls are on the outside wall where rain could get in.

Maybe a rack that has strong vertical metal slats for the hay, but no horizontal bars except for the frame. Would be harder for anything to get stuck, but hay could still easily come out.

 

[fuzzy9]

We use the Lixit top-fill from Klubertanz, they are cheaper there. We've had no issues with leaking at all with that brand, or cracking. Some tubes are a bit tougher to work than others, but they all work great, and even the kits can work them.